The Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills was elected Aug. 1, 2025, to serve a six-year term as secretary of the ELCA by the Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix.

Prior to her election, Secretary Mills had served as an assistant to the bishop for the call process and as interim director for evangelical mission in the ELCA North Carolina Synod since 2019. She had previously served as an interim pastor, as ELCA African Descent Ministries program associate, and as pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church, Chesapeake, Va.

She received a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) certification from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 2002, and was ordained in 2004.

She is a certified coach, a Ventures Stewardship facilitator, a Healthy Congregations facilitator and a Bowens family systems theory enthusiast. She also participates as a facilitator and activist in social and racial justice efforts.‍